Name: Date: Section: PLEASE DO NOW
1. Who did Mrs. Murdo tell first about the note from Doon and Lina?
2. Did all the citizens make it out of Ember?
3. Who did Lina, Mrs. Murdo, and Poppy go home with on their first night?
4. Whose room did Lina, Poppy, and Mrs. Murdo sleep in? What was that person’s reaction?
SWBAT ______________________________________________________________________________.
STOP! Wait for further instruction!
Guided Notes
• ___________________________ are the way people usually act, or what they are like.
(Common personality traits include: shy, bossy, rude, outgoing, forgetful, strict, understanding, hard-working, compassionate/nice/kind, mean, obedient)
• Sometimes the author tells you directly about a character’s personality; most of the time, you have to _________________________________ based on how the author reveals the
• There are basically five (5) different ways in which a writer reveals what a character is like (________________________________)
Direct Characterization
1) The writer states ____________________ what the character is like
▫ Example: Darnell was small and fragile looking, but he had immense courage and independence
Indirect Characterization
2) The writer gives the actual ________________ of the character ▫ Example: “I’m afraid, but I’ll do it anyway!” said Darnell
3) The writer reveals what the character is ___________________ or _____________________ ▫ Example: As cold water of the lake wrapped around his legs, Darnell trembled at the
memory of last summer’s accident
4) The writer tells about the character’s ____________________
▫ Example: With determined effort, Darnell managed to get the rowboat into the lake and clamber aboard
5) The writer tells how other ___________________________________to the character
▫ Example: Polly watched from the shore, knowing it was impossible to stop Darnell once he had decided to do something. “He is stubborn!” Polly thought.
Characterization It Says (use information
from the text)
I Say (use your background knowledge)
And So (draw your conclusion)
Match Your Answer
1. Identify the type of
_______________ the author uses to reveal the
character’s personality traits
2. Find the information from the ___________ that will help you determine the character’s personality traits
3. Think about what you know about that information
Let’s look at an example in real life
Complete your Personality Trait Graphic Organizer as Mr. Lee thinks aloud Characterization It Says
(use information from the text)
I Say (use your background knowledge)
And So (draw your conclusion)
Match Your Answer
The personality trait that best represents this
character is
_______________ _______________
The author reveals what this
character is like by his actions
In the
_____________, we see Mr. Lee working on two computers, he has four books open that he is using as references, and he is drinking coffee
I know that Mr. Lee prepares class work for us each day.
_______________ that people use a lot of different references to find the best
information.
I know that people drink coffee when they are tired and need more energy to complete a task
Based on the information provided from the picture and my own background knowledge, I can draw the
Let’s look at another example from real life…
Characterization It Says (use information
from the text)
I Say (use your background knowledge)
And So (draw your conclusion)
Match Your Answer
The personality trait that best represents this
character is
Class Work
Directions: Read the excerpts from The People of Sparks, Chapter 4 below, and draw a conclusion about the character’s personality traits.
“Except for a glimmer of light on its two windows, reflected from the reddening sky, it was in darkness, huddled beneath a great brooding plant the shape of a huge mushroom.
“Is that a pinetree?” Lina asked the doctor.
“Oak tree,” the doctor said, so Lina understood that “tree” must mean all big plants, and they came in different kinds” (page 37).
Characterization It Says (use information
from the text)
I Say (use your background knowledge)
And So (draw your conclusion)
Match Your Answer
The personality trait that best describes this character is
a. uninterested b. shy
“The fired scared her…. The boy, Torren, hiked himself up on one of these ledges sat there, kicking his feet against the cabinet set in the wall below it. “Afraid of fire,” he said in a low, scornful voice” (pg 39).
Characterization It Says (use information
from the text)
I Say (use your background knowledge)
And So (draw your conclusion)
Match Your Answer
The personality trait that best describes this character is
a. forgiving b. irritated c. helpful d. courteous
Independent Practice/Homework
“While Lina slept, the three town leaders were holding a meeting. They sat at a table in the tower room of the town hall, which looked out over the plaza. Mary’s hands were clasped tightly in front of her. Ben scowled, his gray eyebrows bunched together, deepening the two lines between them. Wilmer pulled nervously on one ear and looked from Mary to Ben and back to Mary” (page 45).
Characterization It Says (use information
from the text)
I Say (use your background knowledge)
And So (draw your conclusion)
Match Your Answer
The personality trait that best describes Mary, Wilmer, and Ben is
“Mary, Ben, and Wilmer shook hands on this agreement, but none of them said out loud what they were thinking; that even after six months, the people of Ember would be hard-pressed to start a twon. The founders of Sparks had known carpentry and farming, and even so it had taken them two years just to build rough shelters and get the rocks out of the fields. They had known how to manage animals and build good soil, but still their animals sometimes died of disease and hunger in the many years when the crops failed. They had known to expect harsh weather, wolves, and bandits, and still they suffered losses from all three” (page 49).
Characterization It Says (use information
from the text)
I Say (use your background knowledge)
And So (draw your conclusion)
Match Your Answer
The personality trait that best describes these
characters is
